1 Paralipomenon 21

¹But Satan rose against Israel: and moved David to number Israel.

²And David said to Joab, and to the Princes of the people: Go, and number Israel from Bersabee unto Dan, and bring me the number that I may know.

³And Joab, answered: Our Lord increase his people an hundred fold more than they are: are they not my lord king all thy servants? Why doth my lord seek this, which may be reputed for a sin to Israel?

⁴But the king's word prevailed more: and Joab went forth, and went about all Israel: and returned to Jerusalem.

⁵And he gave David the number of them, whom he had surveyed: and all the number of Israel was found a thousand thousand & an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and of Juda four hundred seventy thousand men of war.

⁶For Levi and Benjamin he numbered not: because Joab unwillingly executed the king's commandment.

⁷And that which was commanded displeased God: and he struck Israel.

⁸And David said to God: I have sinned exceedingly in that I would do this: I beseech thee take away the iniquity of thy servant, because I have done foolishly.

⁹And our Lord spake to Gad the Seer of David, saying:

¹⁰Go, & speak to David, & tell him: Thus saith our Lord: I give thee the choice of three things, choose one which thou wilt, & I will do it to thee.

¹¹And when Gad was come to David, he said to him: Thus saith our Lord: Choose which thou wilt:

¹²either three years' famine: or three months to fly from thine enemies, and not to be able to escape their sword: or three days the sword of our Lord, and pestilence to be in the land, & the Angel of our Lord to kill in all the coasts of Israel: now therefore see what I shall answer him, that sent me.

¹³And David said to Gad: I am on every side in great distress: but it is better, that I fall into the hands of our Lord, because his mercies be many, than into the hands of men.

¹⁴Our Lord therefore sent the pestilence in Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.

¹⁵He sent also an Angel into Jerusalem, to strike it: and when it was strucken, our Lord saw, and had compassion upon the greatness of the evil, and commanded the Angel, that smote: It is sufficient, now let thy hand cease. Moreover the Angel of our Lord stood beside the floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶And David lifting up his eyes, saw the Angel of our Lord standing between heaven & earth, and a sword drawn in his hand, turned against Jerusalem: and they fell as well he as the ancients clothed in hair cloths, flat on the earth.

¹⁷And David said to God: Am not I he, that commanded the people to be numbered? It is I that have sinned: it is I that have done the evil: this flock what hath it deserved? Lord my God let thy hand be turned I beseech thee upon me, and upon my father's house: and let not thy people be strucken.

¹⁸And the Angel of our Lord commanded Gad to tell David, that he should go up, and build an altar to our Lord God in the floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁹David therefore went up according to the word of Gad, which he had spoken to him in the name of our Lord.

²⁰Moreover Ornan when he had looked up, and seen the Angel, and his four sons with him, they hid themselves. For at that time he threshed wheat in the floor.

²¹Therefore when David came to Ornan, Ornan beheld him, and went forth to meet him out of the floor, and adored him flat on the ground.

²²And David said to him: Give me the place of thy floor, that I may build therein an altar to our Lord: so that thou take as much silver as it is worth, and the plague may cease from the people.

²³And Ornan said to David: Take it, and let my lord the king do whatsoever pleaseth him: yea the oxen also I give for holocaust, and the drays for wood, and wheat for sacrifice: I will give all things willingly.

²⁴And king David said to him: It shall not be so, but I will give thee silver as much as it is worth: for I may not take it from thee, and so offer to our Lord holocausts given gratis.

²⁵David therefore gave Ornan for the place, six hundred sicles of gold of most just weight.

²⁶And he built there an altar to our Lord: and he offered holocausts, and pacifics, and he invocated our Lord, and he heard him in fire from heaven upon the altar of holocaust.

²⁷And our Lord commanded the Angel: & he turned his sword into the scabbard.

²⁸David therefore forthwith seeing that our Lord had heard him in the floor of Ornan the Jebusite, immolated victims there.

²⁹But the tabernacle of our Lord, which Moyses made in the desert, and the altar of holocausts, was at that time in the excelse of Gabaon.

³⁰And David could not go to the altar to pray God there: for he had been frighted with exceeding fear, seeing the sword of the Angel of our Lord.